yet another lad from suphan buri, birthplace of many a luk thung star! don't know very much about sonphet, really.. he was big in the 70's and a follower of mueangmon sombatcharoen.. he shook up the thai pop scene one year when he failed to show up for his royally-presented "golden antenna" award! he explained that he'd been sure he'd lose to competitor sayan sanya! funny enough, he tackles a number of sayan's tunes on this tape, but definitely makes them his own.. he's got a high, gritty voice & raucous singing style. this stuff is from his later period, classic organ & drum-machine driven luk thung. hope you enjoy!

the inimitable sangthong sisai; actor, singer, and doubtless heart-throb! another fellow from suphan buri, sangthong got his start singing for the จุฬารัตน์ (chularat) band like his idol ชาย เมืองสิงห์ (chai mueangsing a.k.a. "man city lion"). during his tenure, the band also gave sangthong his stage-name; his eponym being a thai drama wherein the titular prince disguises himself as a hideous demon.. wishful thinking perhaps? sangthong's unmistakable facial features & equally unmistakable voice brought him fame both on screen and on record.. his singing sounds somewhat like an average person's sped up in post-production. though he ended up in jail for attempted murder, he remained a star & even had some hits from behind bars! the band here has a very western rock flavor, and turn in a handful of great tunes. enjoy!!!

keeping with newer music for the moment, here is thailand's first (i think..) reggae/dancehall group! this might not be everyone's thing (alexandra can't stand them, for instance) but i think they're alot of fun! i'm not sure where exactly they're from (probably bangkok).. i'm assuming their claim of จังหวัด แดนซ์ฮอลล์ (dancehall province) isn't completely accurate. buddha bless rap about hell, doraemon and lemongrass.. so i think lyrically they have all the bases covered. this one's just off cd, back to old cassettes next week!! & here's an MV:

this week we have a great offering of molam sing! the word ซิ่ง ('sing'), from english 'racing' (originally a reference to biker culture), has come to imply something hip or up-to-date.. in other words, this is a sort of modernised molam.. in place of the classic skeletal voice & khaen arrangement, the music is driven by an electrified full band, playing at a high pitch & swift tempo. this cassette is a live recording, aurally capturing an event which typically features all manner of dancers & comic skits on top of the music. the beat here is perpetual, only pausing for some brief interludes of สอย ('soi'), wherein the singers taunt & trash-talk fellow performers & the audience! laid over the beat are melodies both from lam repetoire and borrowed from luk thung. i don't know anything about this particular group 'phloenphit', but they sound great.. i wonder if they have any vcds floating around!

enchanting songs of thailand

a collection of great music made by the people of thailand; luk thung, luk krung, molam, regional folk styles & more. mostly recorded from tape, sound quality should be pretty good (unless stated otherwise). transliteration is done using the royal thai general system of transcription. feedback/re-upload requests/etc. always appreciated!